Conejo Valley history comes to life for spectators

DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Stasia Simrall portrays Mary Jane Hunt, who moved to the Conejo Valley in 1888, during “A Living History of the Conejo Valley” presentation Friday at the Goebel Senior Adult Center in Thousand Oaks.

DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Stasia Simrall portrays Mary Jane Hunt, who moved to the Conejo Valley in 1888, during “A Living History of the Conejo Valley” presentation Friday.

DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Artifacts from the time of Conejo Valley residents Nils and Ellen Olsen in the 1890s are displayed Friday during “A Living History of the Conejo Valley” at the Goebel Senior Adult Center in Thousand Oaks.

DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Scotty Cramolini portrays Egbert Starr Newbury, a Conejo Valley historic figure, during “A Living History of the Conejo Valley” presented Friday at the Goebel Senior Adult Center in Thousand Oaks.

A resident of the Conejo Valley since 1971, Nancy Most has long been fascinated with the history of her community, which was home to approximately 50,000 people when she first moved to the area more than four decades ago.

"I think we have 125,000 residents now," said Most, 79, of Thousand Oaks. "Nostalgia is part of my persona, and I love history. If there's not someone out there talking about this history, it gets forgotten."

Most was among more than 50 history buffs who gathered at the Goebel Senior Adult Center in Thousand Oaks on Friday for a talk on the living history of the Conejo Valley presented by the experts from the Stagecoach Inn Museum in Newbury Park.

The talk was facilitated by Miriam Sprankling, curator of history at the museum and co-author of "Historical Tour of the Conejo Valley," "Tales and Voices of the Conejo" and "Ladies of the Conejo."

Sprankling's talk was interspersed with four people wearing period costumes portraying historic figures.

Ventura resident Scotty Cramolini played Egbert Starr Newbury, a soldier for the Union cause who moved to the San Jose for a few months in 1871 before settling in Santa Barbara. While there, he met two other men, Howard Mills and John Edwards, who owned most of the land in the southeastern part of Santa Barbara County, now known as the Conejo Valley.

"With his beloved wife, Fannie, they built a modest cabin where the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza now stands and moved to the area in May of 1874," Cramolini said.

Stasia Simrall, of Thousand Oaks, played the role of Mary Jane Hunt, wife of Richard Orville Hunt, a carriage maker, blacksmith, postmaster and rancher.

"She kept a diary of her daily life from Nov. 1895 through 1896," Simrall said. "Through her daily diary entries, we have learned what life was really like for the early settlers here in the Conejo Valley."

Since Thousand Oaks is still a relatively new city, it wasn't until Simrall played Mary Jane Hunt that she learned that Thousand Oaks really had a history.

"No one talked about it," Simrall said. "I was fascinated to learn what had gone on before Thousand Oaks came into existence as a city."

Susan Robb, a resident of Thousand Oaks since 1965, played Mabel Stark, the only woman to raise, tame and work with tigers in the circuses of the time. She worked for Ringling Bros. circuses in the 1920s and spent her later years working and training at Jungleland in Thousand Oaks.

"Mabel not only broke into the circus life, but she did a job that was completely dominated by men and did it exceedingly well," Robb said. "She once stunt doubled for Mae West in a movie and later Mae West said the only other person she had ever met that she would change places with is Mabel Stark."

Camarillo resident Gerald Olsen, 78, played the part of his grandfather, Nils Petter, who came to Conejo Valley in 1890 and settled what became known as the Norwegian Colony with four other Norwegian families.

"Olsen Road is named after him because he gave part of the right of way for Moorpark Road and part of the right of way for Olsen Road in Thousand Oaks," he said.

Olsen hopes Friday's presentation gave the audience an appreciation of the Conejo Valley's history.

"If we don't do the research and we don't tell the stories, they will be lost forever," he said.